Norway Remains Among World's Top 10 Places to Discover Oil

Norway remains among the top 10 places to find oil worlwide, with the Arctic region still having much potential despite recent disappointing exploration results, consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday.

Earlier this week Norway's Statoil(STO) reported yet another dry well in the Barents sea, some 100 kilometres northwest of the Johan Castberg discovery. However, the firm said it would continue its exploration campaign in the area next year.

"Exploration has been very disappointing over the few past years, the Barents hasn't lived up to expectations. But this is still one of the top ten regions yet to find reserves, so there is plenty more to play for", Luke Parker, head of corporate analysis in Wood Mackenzie told an investor conference in Oslo.

"The companies that are there will continue to drill, he added, naming Statoil, Aker BP and Lundin Petroleum as the key players to lead the activity. In 2017 the global oil and gas industry was on track to hit forecasts of 20-25 new project sanctions, according to Wood Mackenzie's calculation. "We are currently 18 and counting. We are broadly on track to meet the forecast," Parker said.